Navy Sniper/Counter-Sniper ^TM: 3D Lines-of-Sight Mission Planning Software

Description:

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed a mission planning and training/simulation software tool for sniper/counter-sniper missions, force protection, personnel security, and sensor and camera placement. By asking, “what can I see”, and, “where can I be seen”, the tool graphically indicates areas visible to observers at known positions in a 3D scene, as well as positions from which these observers can be seen. This software package uses digital 3D terrain data from any source to determine and display these locations. Additional features include custom range rings/grids, multiple viewpoints, limited field-of-view angles, threat coverage and protectee scenarios. This utility can also be used for geospatial intelligence and determining viewsheds in architectural design. It is currently formatted as an Autodesk Maya plug-in, but it may be ported to any geospatial or 3D software application. It is in use by a federal law enforcement agency and the US Intelligence Community (IC).

Advantages/Features Include:

Shows line-of-sight and viewsheds for any type of 3D digital scene, at any resolution
Shows overlapping fields of view and sees through alpha-coded texels, including tree-textured polygons
All surfaces are color-coded, including interiors, under bridges and overhangs, vertical surfaces, etc.
Color-coding is produced as imagery (shown above), viewed from any angle, rendered as fast as 4-sec
Easily used with moving snipers/targets/protectees to create custom convoy animations

Applications Include:

High value security and sniper/counter-sniper mission planning and training for military, law enforcement, SWAT, covert ingress/egress and reconnaissance, convoy/protectee planning, and force protection
Viewshed determination for Geospatial intelligence, architectural design, placement of video surveillance cameras and sensors, correctional facilities, etc.

References:

The user's manual and executables for use with Maya are available for review by interested companies.

Click here for a more detailed PDF version of this technology.

Contact:

Naval Research Laboratory
Technology Transfer Office, Code 1004
techtran@research.nrl.navy.mil

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